School's Out For Summer!

Kinda sad... REALLY sad actually!  I can't believe Max is done with another year of school!  One year of preschool left... *cry*

Ever since starting school in the fall of 2007, we have taken a picture each morning; I'm soooo very glad I did this because I love to see how much he changes throughout the year!  This year we lived in three different houses, so our background changed a bit... but I don't think Max changed as much this year as he did last year (see my post from May 2008 for proof).    Here are the first and last day pics from the 08-09 school year...

first day of school, Sept. 2008

last day of school, May 2009

What a great year though!  I absolutely LOVED Max's teachers!  So did he.  He made a lot of great friends and of course, kept his dearest friends close.  Today was a day to celebrate all they had done this year so the kids got to play at the school "carnival" then have a "promotion ceremony" in the sanctuary of the church.  It was soooooo sweet!

The funniest part to me was when Mrs. Heather took her turn to talk about Max.  She admitted that he did not want her to say anything mushy and he yelled out during the program "are you gonna cry?" cause he was very worried she might.  She talked about him anyway... and look at his expression... "oh brother!" with his hand to his head and everything!  So funny!

We now look forward to spending summer going to the pool, using our new Kings Island passes, having friends over, and relaxing!  Enjoy the pictures from Max's day...

Max, Cade and Rachel at the carnival

Walking in for the promotion ceremony.  the little girl in the pink is Becca; Mrs. Heather spoke about her first, calling her the "smallest" then it was Max's turn so Heather said "... to the biggest"... you can see the evidence here!

pre-promotion

post-promotion

Mrs. Missy, Max and Mrs. Heather

Post-Vacation Depression...

... it's set in.  I wanna go back!  The fun, the sun, the heat... it was allllll good!  I am SERIOUSLY considering moving to Florida... or at least buying a smaller house here so we can also buy a small house there.  It's soooo dreamy!   

We had a WONDERFUL vacation at Disney World, as is evidenced by all our pictures.  I think Max was at a perfect age where he could really enjoy everything and I know he'll have memories from this trip for his lifetime!   Things really could not have been more perfect... the flights were on time (albeit a little bumpy over ATL, which is where I had a dream a few nights prior to our flight that we crashed... which was kinda weird) the sun was out, we got to warm our bones from the Ohio weather, the humidity was only 30% so we could breath, the parks weren't terribly crowded (hardly any lines!) and we got to do almost everything we wanted!  Man, I wanna go back!!!!  

The three of us arrived Thursday afternoon (after having to rush Max to the Urgent Care during his morning preschool class from a gash he made to his forehead) and met up with Chris's parents and sisters and their families.  We made our way to downtown Disney to shop and eat and just check things out.  Max and Belle got a map of the Magic Kingdom and plotted their way for our visit on Friday...

We spent the ENTIRE day on Friday at Magic Kingdom.  It was great fun!  Max's favorite ride was Splash Mountain, which actually surprised me because it's a 52' drop down that hill and he'd never been on a ride before in his life!  He literally pleaded with us to ride it again and again... so we did.  :)  Max also got to meet Ariel... his true love.  He was very coy with her.  It was too cute.  He met Cinderella, Belle, Mickey,  Minnie and Goofy as well on Friday.  

Saturday we spent the day at Hollywood Studios.  Believe it or not, Max was tall enough (but maybe not mature enough?) to ride the Tower of Terror.  Ok, I was having MAJOR heart palpitations anticipating this HUGE elevator drop... I could not believe Max desperately wanted to ride it!  I kept telling him it might be scary, which I later learned was a mistake.  He cried the entire ride, starting at the minute they closed our elevator door.  I think he was more freaked out by the Twilight Zone theme than the actual ride, although the dropping sensation was very eerie.  Max was so brave; I was impressed!  His favorite ride that day was the Star Wars simulator but he also really enjoyed the Beauty and the Beast stage production and the Playhouse Disney Live on Stage show.  Meeting the Power Rangers and other characters was very cool too!  There was just so much to do both days!

Sunday we spent the morning celebrating Mother's Day with Chris's mom at the hotel pool before the rest of the crew headed to the airport... the three of us then made our way to Port Orleans Riverside  Hotel at WDW to spend the next day and a half lounging at  the pool.  I could have spent an entire week just lying there, it was so nice!  We swam, ate, swam, took a boat ride, swam, rented a surrey bike and swam.   Thank goodness for sunscreen, that's all I'm sayin'!  :)

So now it's back to reality after a wonderful wonderful vacation!   I have already been online trying to plot our way back... I'm so desperate!   I heart vacation!

I got nothin'...

After the high of yesterday's soccer success we were all really looking forward to Max's school program this afternoon:  The Spring Sing.  The saying "pictures speak a thousand words" is so true... so I leave you with pictures, and no more words...

MAJOR SUCCESS!

Man, what was I even worried about?  Soccer this morning was a breeze!  We practiced the "GOOOOOOO YELLOW JACKETS!" cheer from home, got Max psyched for the game (with bribes of a Slushie and t-ball sign ups afterward) and he was ready to go!  He did AWESOME!  Got right in the mix, kicked it away from opposing players, ran his little heart out... of course, the great soccer playing was intermixed with a few ballerina twirls and hugging of the the other players, but whatever, it worked!  He LOVED it and was so thrilled afterward!

Enjoy the pics and  video... the video DOES have sound and it's just a big loud speaker announcement so you might wanna turn your volume down a bit when you watch; don't turn it down all the way though cause you'll wanna hear the excitement and cheering!  So fun!  ... if you can't find Max, he starts out on the left side of the screen; his team is yellow.

We are geniuses!

So first, we had a beaaaauuuuutiful weekend... it was so warm and sunny!  We actually got to wear shorts in April!!!  WHOA!!!  It was pretty windy too so Friday and Saturday, Max whipped out his kite that Mamaw and Papaw bought him last fall and got great use of it.  Chris and I both made the comment that this was the first kite ever that we've used that has actually worked.  It was fun!   Luckily our yard is big enough to fly the kite; something we can do without having a lawn!  Yipee!!

Sunday morning Nicole, another friend, and I drove down to Sawyer Point on the river for the 6 mile March for Babies walk/run.  Again, beautiful weather!  Doing the Cincinnati walk is so nice because you get to go inside Great American Ballpark (I snapped a picture of a guy in his Braves uni who was in the dugout prepping for the game... hee hee), walk all along the river, cross the bridge into KY and so on.  We estimate that we ran 3 miles of it and walked the other 3... it was fun!  I feel bad that this year I didn't raise money for the cause though; I kinda took that upon myself each year since Max was born premature.  Next year, back to the fundraising!

Then tonight, and here is where the genius part fits in, we took Max up to the golf course to hit at the range.  He has some junior clubs that our old neighbor gave him and this was his first time trying them out.  He loved it... and then it hit us... PERFECT sport for Max to play... it's quiet so there won't be any loud noises to startle him and it's done individually!!!  WAHOO!!!   We'll see how this goes... he says he wants to be on a golf team now... oh brother!  That and tennis... way to pick the two most expensive sports, Maxer!

ps-  Max also wanted to show Grandma his new shirt she sent him for Easter... :)  It's one of my new faves!!!  Fits perfectly!  Thanks!

Max's First Soccer Game... FAIL!

Ok, so you remember last year, the tears, the struggle... the stupid 3 year old league we were in at the Y?  Well this year Max said "4 Year Olds don't cry" so I believed he'd be fine.  We paid the $64 (UGH) to sign him up, he had two practices and did AWESOME, even demonstrated to the whole team how to dribble, so we were looking forward to a BEAUTIFUL unseasonably warm and sunny day for Max to play his first game.  Heck, his team color is even YELLOW... his favorite!!!  We thought for sure this would be a good year...  WRONG!

We ran over with the team, got his yellow shirt on, and he was ready to go... until... the coach made them huddle up and put their hands in and yell "1-2-3- GO YELLOW"... and therrrrrrre's the trigger... Mr. Sensitive (aka Max) ran off the field crying... he hated soccer, he hated Chris, he hated his friends on his team.  Nice.  That was what set him off last year, when the team did their cheer and he wasn't ready for it... he was sensitive to the loud noise then, and apparently now.  I think it took all Chris and I had to not beat him in front of the other families, for real.  It is SO frustrating to have him be so excited to play, then be too emotional to actually get out there!  Why the back and forth?  Why the indecisiveness?  UGH!  

Needless to say the entire hour was spent coaxing him out on the field, him then yelling "NO" at everyone, then him either sitting on the side lines or making a run for the parking lot.  Chris is STILL in a bad mood about it.  After leaving the game Max screamed to go back to the field... we will give him one more chance... practice is Monday and if he goes and participates as usual, we'll let him play in the game next Saturday.  If that doesn't work and he throws a fit, that's it, I'm getting my money back.  

Parenting is so hard.  

Happy Earth Day!

Being eco-friendly is near and dear to my heart!  I buy organic when I can, I always use toxic free house cleaners, even the soap we use is all natural!  And I bet you didn't know all the carpet in our house is made from corn!  YUP!  Corn.  Regular carpet fibers are made from petroleum oil, like nylon, polyester and olefin... corn carpet saves the planet from CO2 emissions, has superior stain resistance, is UV fade resistant and so much more and corn is a 100% annually renewable resource!  Whatcha think about that?  :)

In honor of Earth Day, here are some tips on how you can save money and go green!

1.  Eat Less Red Meat (or none, like I do!)

-reduce your carbon footprint and greenhouse gas emissions by going meatless at least once a week.  You'll save money too, since meatless meals are cheaper!

2.  Dollar Test Your Fridge!  

-the fridge is an energy lover... give it a dollar test to make sure it's not leaking cold air into your home.  close the door on a dollar bill; if it's held tight and is tough to pull out, you're good.  if it falls our or can be pulled out very easily you should replace the door gasket.  

3.  Open a Window!

- need to air out your home?  air fresheners, especially aerosol ones, can be flammable and most of them emit toxic fumes.  instead of spraying, open a window for ventilation, especially when cleaning (if you don't use non-toxic products).

4.  Make Cleaning Products Yourself!

- checkout this site for great tips on how to make your own cleaning solution with vinegar and water:  Versatile Vinegar

with a little vinegar, water and baking soda you can clean most things in your house!  it's a great disinfectant!  i keep a large spray bottle filled with one part vinegar and 4 parts water under my sink to mop the floor a few times a week.

5.  Shoes off at the Door!

-most of the dirt in our house comes from dirt outside our house... make your home a shoe-free area so you don't have to clean as often

6.  Get a Klean Kanteen!

-my fave!  stop using plastic water bottles  (ok, sometimes they are convenient, especially when you're traveling or something) and invest in a Klean Kanteen instead!  You will not only save money but you will save landfills!!!!  No more plastic to litter them.  I refill my Klean Kanteen everynight, stick it in my dollar-bill-tight fridge, and use it the next day... 

So there you have it!  A few tips on how to be more Earth-friendly this Earth day!  :)  And Dad, thanks for planting three new trees in my yard today!  Way to celebrate!  :)